Hellfire
by Seaflower2009
Summary: AU. The team is the worlds most elite team of Vampire hunters. When on a hunt, Reid comes face to face with a lost love and the team must figure out how to handle it. Other romances arise, and in the heat of battle, anything can happen.
1. Chapter 1: Shadows in the Night

**Hellfire**

Chapter One: _Shadows in the Night_

Shadows danced across the brick walls of the buildings surrounding the courtyard as Spencer Reid stood alone in the dark at the edge of the large arched window that opened to a small rot iron balcony that was actually more of a fire escape. He twirled the stake in his hand as he watched the people, or rather creatures, dancing around the fire, seemingly taunting him with how easily they could become victims of that very blaze. From the third story loft window he could see many points where the group below was weak, venerable, and he gritted his teeth, bit his lip, and tapped his empty hand against his leg as he itched with a longing to take them now.

The anticipation must have shown in his body and radiated through the room because suddenly a voice was soft behind him. "Easy, kid." Derek Morgan had entered, silent as a ghost, and was now lounging on a couch off to Reid's left, his leather jacket strewn over the arm and his tight black shirt hugging every inch of his muscled torso.

"How long have you been there?" Reid asked, never pulling his eyes from the spectacle below.

"Long enough." Morgan had moved to stand at the other side of the window. "The team will let us know when they've reached their positions and assessed the area."

"Speaking of, here comes Emily and JJ." Reid pulled himself away from the window and turned to watch as the two women opened the door, walked in and stopped, staring at the men with calm eyes.

"That's an uncanny skill, kid." Morgan nodded at the two, who had entered as silently as he had.

Emily Prentiss had her hair in a pony and the shadows of the night accentuated her sharp cheek bones and nose, giving her beauty a dark edge. The low cut tight shirt and curve hugging pants did the same for her body, heeled boots adding height and danger to her frame. JJ was clad in an outfit eerily similar, though shirts differed in color, but her hair hung in loose curls that framed her shadow ridden face.

"Boys." JJ softly acknowledged before quickly and silently moving to the window to check on the view from this position. "Rossi and Hotch are in position." She said as she moved back away from the window.

"Good." Morgan moved closer to the women and lowered his voice, trying to exclude Reid's ears from what he was about to say. Luckily for him Reid had turned his attention back to the event on the street below. "If it isn't obvious to anyone else… My partner over here is a little… well…"

"Overly restless." Prentiss stated as she watched him. He had on heavy black boots, not unlike the ones on Morgan's feet, and tight fighting pants. His shirt was dark in color, as was the clothing everyone wore, and a simple button up. Emily had noticed with pleasure he wasn't wearing a tie, as was normal with him, having seen them cause more than one difficulty. She didn't understand why both he and Hotch seemed insistent on almost always wearing one. To top everything off, Reid had his black leather jacket on, zipped halfway up in the front and surly concealing more weapons than the others were now underneath its bulk. When the time came for the mission to begin, they would all have theirs on.

"My question…" Prentiss continued. "Is, is that restlessness from excitement, or from nerves?"

JJ nodded in agreement with the question. "Well we can't question Hotch's decision to call him back so soon. He must have known what he was doing. Do _you_ think Reid's ready for this though, Morgan?"

"I don't know. He hasn't spoken to me much. But… I would be willing to bet she is weighing on his mind right now. More than what can be healthy, given the situation."

Prentiss placed a hand on her hip as she sighed in agreement. "His third hunt back and this time we couldn't find any Intel that would suggest she _wasn't_ involved with this group."

"Well, keep a close eye on him, would you?" JJ said to Morgan before patting his shoulder and turning to leave. "Hotch told us from this point on to only use our radios in an emergency. So we'll be in position in about ten minutes. Not long after that, watch for our signal. That's when we move."

Morgan simply nodded and returned to his post next to Reid at the window.

After the girls had made it out and far enough away to satisfy Reid, he spoke up softly. "She's hear, Morgan."

"Look, Reid. Just because this pack has seen a few new faces recently doesn't mean-"

"That's not it." Reid cut him off, still not looking away from the window.

Morgan sighed. "Did you see her?" When Reid nodded a no Morgan continued. "Then maybe s-"

"I can feel her."

Morgan's eyes traced over the other man's face as he watched the mass below. He knew Reid could sense the presence of a woman from a distance, and if he knew them well enough he could pick her out in a crowd, like how he had known it was Prentiss and JJ approaching them earlier. It was his gift, their hearts like their own physical presence that only Reid could see and feel, sometimes up to miles away. But normally none of the team's gifts worked on the dead, or un-dead. Normally.

"Are you… Are you sure it's her, Reid?"

Reid shot him a look that revealed the question had angered him a little. Of course he would know her.

Morgan chose his next words carefully. "How, then? Why would your gift work on her now?" Morgan watched his unmoving face and when he didn't respond he asked the next thing he needed to. If he answered this in the affirmative Morgan would be concerned that Reid wasn't in the right mindset for battle. "Do you think she's still alive?"

"No." One word and not even a twitch to reflect the inner hell the young man was experiencing. How he wished his answer could be yes, but when someone dies in front of you it really couldn't be.

After a few moments of silence both men jumped when Morgan's phone bussed. It was on vibrate but in the silence of the room it was a blaring noise. "I got to take this, Reid. It's Garcia."

Reid simply nodded and listened as Morgan moved into the hall, his greeting of 'Baby Girl' the last clear words Reid heard before the door shut and Morgan's voice became a mumble.

It had started to rain and Reid sighed as he noticed the bonfire below not suffer at all from the rain. Hellfire. Harder to put out but still effective in turning Vampire flesh to ash.

"I thought he'd never leave."

Reid's head snapped to the right, where the all too familiar voice had come from. The stake he hadn't stopped fiddling with was now clutched tightly in his hand, poised and ready for use. "And _I_ thought you wouldn't be foolish enough to try and approach me."

A woman moved slowly from the shadows next to the other window in the room, which was now cracked open, her pale skin perfect and almost iridescent in the little amount of light filtering up from the fire and down from the moon. Her dark hair fell in flowing curls around her face and shoulders and her darkly colored eyes shown brighter than he had ever known them too. The deep sapphire dress she had on hugged every one of her curves beautifully and Reid couldn't help but feel that pull deep inside of him as he let his eyes wander over her body for a second. She held a leather jacket in one arm but threw it over a chair as she took one more step into the room.

"Was I wrong to think you wouldn't want to hurt me?" Her voice was soft and pleasing to the ear.

Reid's voice was strong as he spoke. "What I want and what I have to do are two very different things, Nicollet."


	2. Chapter 2: Old Flames

_Author's Note: I meant to mention in the previous post that the theme song for this story is "Set Fire to the Rain" by Adele. It just fits the mood and tempo of this piece and I listened to it about a million times so far while writing. Anyway, feel free to ask any questions and share some feedback. Thanks, enjoy!_

**Hellfire**

Chapter Two: _Old Flames_

Fear flashed in her eyes for a second before she spoke. "You cut your hair. I like it." She laughed nervously but when his only response was to lift an eyebrow at her she quickly moved on. "Spencer… you can still feel me, can't you?"

Shock leapt over his features as he turned his body an inch more towards her. "How did you know?"

"Because, Spencer… I… I still feel you." She looked deep into his eyes. When she had been alive, they had almost the same gift, only she could sense men. Ultimately that was what had made them such great partners and what everyone assumed had lead them to be lovers.

"And is that somehow… abnormal?" He couldn't help the interest that rose in him.

"It's just like when you're human. Your gifts don't work on us and ours don't work on you."

Reid clutched the stake tighter, trying not to let his guard down. "You… you can feel Vampires now?"

"Just the males." She nodded.

"And you couldn't feel Morgan? How did you know when he left the room?"

"I was listening. And I could smell two hearts." She watched his face for a response. "We were right, you know. About all of the senses, all of them are heightened in different ways. And it's not just me, all of… us… are the same. In that regard, anyway."

Reid was pleased to get this information but his heart did painful summersaults in his chest. "Nicollet, why did you come here? Why couldn't you just stay away? You know what you're making me do, right?"

Tears fell from her eyes. "Because… I still love you Spencer."

He shut his eyes and recoiled, as if it had been a physical blow to him to hear that.

"Spencer, I don't want this. I never would have and you know that." He opened his eyes to watch her as she continued to speak. "This life… It's hell watching what the others do. Not all of us are like that; there are a good portion of us who still feel our human emotions, who can't stand to watch people be hunted… for food or sport." She shuddered at the memories. "But I'm not here to beg you for my life." She moved silently and inhumanly swiftly towards him and he instinctively raised the stake in his hand. This gave her pause for a moment but after that moment she moved slowly to him, placing her icy hand on his and lowering the stake. "If my life is to end at the hands of the hunters, I want it to be_ this_ team, _our_ team." She paused as he studied her face in such proximity.

He spoke quietly, "_You_ are the one that left us the things we needed to track this pack. You _lead_ us here." It wasn't a question, he knew it was true.

"Yes. Like I said, I wanted our team to be the ones to find me. I know the Bureau wants me dead at all costs, more so than any other Vampire. My life will be ended by the Bureau and I wanted it to be our team. And if I could choose… I would be selfish… and ask that it be _you_."

This broke him and though his stone expression didn't change, tears rolled down his cheeks. "How dare you ask me to do that? Damn you, Nicollet." He did the one thing he knew you should never do in close proximity to a Vampire and closed his eyes. Beauty was said to increase after the change, but Reid had always found her this beautiful and he had imagined her close to him once more so many times that it actually hurt to have her that close again.

"I already am damned." She moved a step closer to him. "Spencer…" She breathed out quietly, breath against his lips, body brushing his, hand still clenched around his hand that clutched the stake. "Spencer…" She repeated. "Spencer…" Again before allowing her lips to softly graze his.

All his resolve vanished and he abruptly pressed their body's together, crashing his lips hard against hers. His free hand found the small of her back and he held her tightly to him, the strength of a hunter matching that of the vampire. He had mourned her, sorrowed over what she had become, and pinned for what they had lost. Now he hungrily kissed her, slipping his tongue into her mouth, greedily taking what he had been forced to grieve for months, and allowing himself for a moment to finally forget something, forget what she was.

Suddenly the door to the tiny loft flew open and Morgan barged in. In the second it had taken him to pear inside he had seen what was going on he drew a stake from his belt. He watched the woman, knowing what she was and what she was trying to do to the young man. Of course Reid would succumb to her seduction techniques; he had loved her during her life. In his mind, Morgan knew he had made a huge mistake leaving Reid alone after he knew Reid felt her here.

In the few seconds it took Morgan to throw open the door and draw his stake, Nicollet had pulled back from Reid and taken a few hasty, but human paced steps back, clearly still too wrapped up in what had been happening to react with normal vampire speed.

Morgan took advantage of that and leapt forward, alder stake poised to strike right into her heart.

"NO!" Reid roared, reacting with the speed Nicollet was lacking he charged into Morgan's side, the momentum of the impact sending them flying sideways. When they quickly regained their footing Reid planted himself firmly between the other two, facing Morgan with his back to Nicollet, protecting her.

"Reid, move! Now!" Morgan exclaimed, disgruntled.

"No." Reid's voice was more of a growl that any of them had ever heard. "Morgan, I love her. You can't do this."

Morgan looked aghast at the young hunter. "Reid, you're falling for one of her tricks. I get that you aren't strong enough to do this so I will. She has to be put down."

"No! I won't let you, any of you!" Fire burned in his eyes.

"Reid, don't do this. You protect her or _let_ her escape and you'll lose your job. Hell, you'll be lucky if the Bureau doesn't ask for your _head_ on a platter."

Reid shook his head. "I don't care Morgan. They can have my job. And just let them come after me. You think they believe any agent that isn't a part of _this_ team wouldn't hold a chance in hell of taking me down?" He shook his head again and let out a little laugh. "No. They aren't taking her from me again."

"Spencer, don't…" Nicollet's voice was soft behind him. "Don't throw yourself away for me…"

Morgan's eyes flashed to her but then they landed back on Reid. "I can't let you do this, kid. I won't let you throw your whole life away for her, not with what she is now."

"You don't get to make that decision Morgan."

"Spencer, listen to him, please. Let him do this…" Nicollet had tears running down her face as she watched the two men in front of her.

Morgan was obviously confused about what Nicollet was saying but he decided it was some trick to get into their heads. "Look, Reid," Morgan twirled the stake in his hand and shifted his weight from foot to foot. "Right now you're not thinking clear." He looked down at the stake and relaxed his posture for a minute, trying to get Reid to think he was backing off and hopefully relax a little himself. He spun the stake one more time before looking back up. "You'll see though, after I do this."

Reid had relaxed a fraction and Morgan lunged forward, crashing against him and knocking him to the floor. With lightning speed he moved towards the woman who didn't make a sound but her eyes had flashed to a bright red the second Morgan collided with Reid and when she pulled her lips back into a snarl fang had appeared in her mouth.

"Don't touch him!" She snarled.


	3. Chapter 3: Friends to Foes

_Author's Note: I didn't realize any more than three people had read this until I signed on my email today (which I tend to forget because it's an older account and not my school one) and was really surprised to find out otherwise. Thank you all for reading, it means a lot. I might be slowing down the number of posts I can make on this piece as school picks up but I also have a few chapters of another CM story ready to go up as well so I hope to post for this one or the other about once a week until I'm free from school work. Thanks for hanging in there and I hope you enjoy! And feedback would be great, constructive criticism will help how this story turns out._

**Hellfire**

Chapter Three: _Friends to Foes_

Morgan said nothing but lunged for her again. As Reid gave a sharp grunt while he tried to stand Nicollet's eyes shot to him and without thinking she defended herself, needing to know he was ok. She moved like a tongue of flame and stepped with blurring speed to the side, grabbing Morgan's wrist and twisting his arm behind his back, causing him to release the stake. Immediately she let go and grabbed the stake for herself. After a moment she threw the stake across the room with enough force to make it stick into the far wall. They stood now face to face and Nicollet let out a low growl as he blocked her view of Reid laying on the ground.

"I thought you wanted me to kill you." He mocked her with her own words. "'Spencer let him do this.' I knew this was all just a game. You thought you could get inside our heads and take us out."

"It's not like that." Her voice was deep. "As long as I know Spencer's ok… I do want you to end this."

Morgan chuckled. "I'm not going to fall for that."

Reid was on his feet now and he looked up just as Morgan lunged back at Nicollet, their eyes met for a second and then Nicollet let her body relax, no fight remaining in her, resigned to her end. He watched them collide, Morgan's weight throwing them against the window, which groaned under the force before the hinges gave way and it burst open letting them pour out as one jumbled mass onto the balcony. Moving as fast as he could he ran to them, grabbed the back of Morgan's shirt and pulling him off of her and threw him back into the room.

"Reid!" Morgan realized to do this he would have to restrain the man. Morgan tried to pin his arms behind him so that he could tie him to something but Reid pulled one arm lose and swung a punch directly at Morgan.

"No!" Nicollet screamed as Reid's fist collided with Morgan's face actually drawing blood from his mouth. "Stop!" She yelled at them.

The men where now in a full on wrestle and Nicollet couldn't bear to see two men she cared about fighting like this with one another. Instinctively she moved forward to try and protect Reid, attempting to pull them from each other. Morgan felt like he was being attacked from both sides and in a sweeping movement he knocked Reid back and grabbed Nicollet around the waist in a fluid turn.

Nicollet screamed as Reid fell, his temple colliding with a table on the way down, drawing a lot of blood and leaving him in a limp heap. Panic surged through her and she had to get to him no matter what was in her way, and right now that was Derek Morgan. She twisted and in a flashed managed to escape his clutch and fling him back on the balcony. He grunted and tried to stand but Nicollet was already on top of him. As he looked up into her red eyes he knew it was over and he was sure she was going to end him right then and there but suddenly she was tying him to the balcony with remnants of curtains that had been in the room.

She tied his one wrist to the balcony so tightly his hand was going numb by the time she was running from him, leaving his other hand free. "Spencer!" She dropped to her knees next to him and Morgan struggled to see what was going on and claw at his restraint at the same time.

Nicollet gently rolled Reid onto his back and took his head into her hands, brushing her fingers along the side of his face. "Spencer! Spencer, talk to me!"

It confused Morgan as he watched the woman, who should have been sent into a frenzy by the smell of blood in the air, instead force herself to stand and run to the tiny kitchen. When she had located some cloths in the kitchen she ran and retrieved her jacket before returning and kneeling down next to Reid again.

"Spencer…" Her voice was calmer now and less panicked. "Spencer, can you hear me Honey?"

Morgan let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding in when he heard Reid give a mild groan.

"Good, that's good. Now just hold still Honey, It's going to be ok." She pulled a small elegantly crafted bottle from a pocket and quickly unstopped the top.

"Whoa, no! What are you doing? What is that?" The urgency and fight was back in Morgan and he pulled on his restraint, felling it start to loosen slightly but also straining his arm.

"Relax. I'm helping him." She poured two drops onto the open wound on Reid's head, causing Morgan to stain harder to get free. She looked up at him for a second, watching his struggle, before returning her eyes to Reid. "It's distilled vampire blood. Turns out something in the chemical compound actually helps speed up a hunter's healing. Doesn't work on mortals, though, just hunters."

She replaced the bottle and started wiping blood off of Reid's face as she took his head into her lap.

"How do- Why? Why are you doing this?" Morgan switched questions and continued to work on getting free.

She looked up at him and his brown eyes met her dark drown ones. "Believe it or not, Derek, I still love him." When Reid gave a grunt her eyes snapped back down to him. "Hey, there are those beautiful eyes. How do you feel?" He grunted and tried to sit up. "Easy there, tiger. You took a serious hit to the head. Take it slow." She made him rest his head back on her lap and gave him a full smile, all teeth and no fangs.

Despite her warning Reid pulled himself up a little and reached one arm up, placing a hand on the back of her head and pulling her down until their lips met. After a moment she pulled away and laughed. "Ok. Take it slow and you should be fine in a minute. Two at the most." She rested his head back on her jacket and he reached up, grabbing the chain that hung around her neck. Gently he pulled and lifted the pendant from where it was concealed by her dress and cleavage. The heavy metal and jeweled cross rested in his palm and he smiled as he looked at it.

"You still wear the necklace I gave you."

"Of course I do." She smiled softly down at him.

"I thought…" He let out a small grunt as he scrunched up his face a little bit and relaxed onto his makeshift pillow. "Crosses are repellant to… Vampires."

"Again, only to some of… us. Those that can't feel anymore _are_ repelled by them." She brushed his check with her fingers again before she stood with the bloody rags carrying them to the sink.

Morgan was confused watching her because as she went about all of this she seemed so much like the women he had known. The long cross pendant hanging over a garment of her favorite color, the soft swish in her walk, the way she spoke and smiled softly to Reid like no one else did, all of it was what he remembered and loved. She was like a sister to him and it hurt because he missed her more than he was willing to admit to anyone. Her eyes fell back on Morgan, still struggling on the balcony and she moved towards him, crouching down next to Reid for a moment before moving to the edge of the balcony, just beyond where Morgan could do anything to reach her.

"We were wrong. People… Creatures… like me… all Vampires aren't the same. Some of… us… actually do still feel." She fidgeted before looking back at him.

"What do you want me to say?" He starred up at her, giving the closest thing he could to a shrug. "See, I was under the impression you hated what you are and wanted me to 'end this'. You asked me to kill you so, why are you standing here trying to convince me I shouldn't hate you?"

Tears were in her eyes. "I- just-" A tear escaped and slowly rolled off her check. "Who _really_ wants to die? I do hate what I am, but can you blame me for being scared to die again? I've done it once. I know how painful it is."

Morgan actually did understand where she was coming from. "Everything else aside, what would you have me do right now?"

More tears rolled down her cheeks and Morgan did feel a twinge in his chest at the site. "I- I don't know." Her voice was soft and scared, so unlike the hardened creature she had become.

"Well then. I guess you need some time to figure it out." Her eyes shot to him, knowing fully well if the Bureau found out the same rules would apply to him as they did to Reid for assisting her in any way. "I'm not saying you're off scotch free. You just have some time."

"Why-" She stopped after looking in his eyes, knowing why, and he gave her half a smile. She loved him too. "Open your mouth."

"What?" He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Spencer split your lip. Let me fix it."

"Yeah sorry about that, Morgan." Reid was standing at the widow, leaning on it a little for support, the gash on his forehead now nothing more than a slightly pink patch of skin.

Nicollet knelt next to Morgan and he opened his mouth a little as she unstopped the bottle again. For a second she smiled a chuckled.

"What now?" Morgan gave her another half-smile.

"Just thinking. This is pretty much just like old times, me having to take care of you two." She looked between them with a smile before she put a single drop on Morgan's lips and watched as the skin started to pull together and heal. After a halfhearted chuckle Morgan noted the taste of the Vampire blood in his mouth and was surprised to find that it was smooth, warm and bold, more intoxicating and appetizing than any alcohol he had ever tasted.

Suddenly Nicollet drew a small dagger from her heeled ankle boot and Morgan had to fight the instinctive wave of panic at seeing it in the hands of a Vampire. She was about to cut the restraint when the radio pieces in Morgan and Reid's ears when off, Nicollet able to pick up the words coming from them.

"Morgan! Reid!" It was Hotch, and Nicollet smiled for a second at the sound, having missed his voice. "Where the hell are you? We're taking hard hits down here from your side!"


	4. Chapter 4: Crimson Stains

_Author's Note: Sorry it has been so long since I posted for this! I tried to make this one a little longer for you. I'll finish the note at the end and let you get to the story now._

**Hellfire**

Chapter Four: _Crimson Stains_

"Shit!" Morgan yelled and Reid rushed to the banister. It was only then, after they had been drawn away from dealing with their own problems, that they all realized they could hear the muffled sounds of battle and screams from below.

Nicollet slashed the restraint on Morgan's wrist quickly before standing to look at the chaos below. Turning she ran into the room and was back in a few seconds, before Morgan even had time to stand all the way up, carrying both her and Morgan's jackets and the two stakes the men had lost during their struggles. Throwing Morgan his jacked and each hunter their stake, she didn't miss a step as she caught hold of the banister and launched herself over the edge.

Both men watched for a second as she landed on the balcony below and went to repeat the process to get to street level. Then they flew into action, Morgan pulling on his jacket as they started down latters on the fire escape reaching the ground faster than a normal human would have.

Nicollet had her jacked on and she handed a cross-bow to each man as they joined her. "Found these the other day and stashed them for this very evening." She gave them each a small clip of arrows. "These are alder. Through the heart will do it." And with that she spun on her heals and was running towards the mess faster than the hunters could keep up with and soon she was lost in the crowd.

"Let's do this, kid." Morgan nodded to his partner as they reached the hysteria.

Morgan took aim and shot an arrow straight through the heart of a woman who was baring her fangs at them and the men watched as she tumbled to the ground, a small patch of crimson spreading out from the wound, giving a few gargled screams before she stopped moving completely, dead on the ground. "Nicollet was right. Effective." Morgan nodded before they both plunged further into the battle.

Within a minute Reid had dropped three men and a woman with his cross-bow but was now down to one arrow. Thinking about it for a second he decided to save it in case he really needed it so he used the strap on the bottom to sling it across his back. Looking around he found Morgan had emptied all of his arrows and was also resorting to hand-to-hand combat.

As Morgan fought with a burly man with glowing red eyes Reid was attacked by a woman. Quickly he spun into her grip, surprising her and using his new position and the momentum from the movement to drive a stake through her ribcage and directly into her heart. Her scream echoed in his ear as she fell to the ground, Reid extracting the stake as she fell, leaving deep crimson streaks on his hands and weapon. As the man fell away from Morgan the both noticed the immediate area was cleared of all opponents.

"You ok, Kid?" Morgan was panting a little.

Reid nodded. "Great. Let's keep moving."

As they took off in the same direction they assessed the scene before them. Ahead they noticed Prentiss and JJ surrounded but holding their own, Prentiss with crimson stained curved blades in both hands and JJ with long bladed, deep red coated daggers, slicing through the air and opponents around them.

Morgan picked up the pace of his running, jumping up on a small wall of a planter box and used the new vantage point to gain the upper hand on a tall woman who seemed to be headed for Prentiss's blind spot. He launched himself into the air and came down with incredible force, driving the stake through her back into the heart. As Prentiss heard the commotion she spun to face the spot where Morgan now stood over the crumbled up body and gave him a quick nod of thanks.

Suddenly JJ screamed as a tall man with red eyes and dark hair landed a kick in the center of her back, sending her flying. She fell to the ground rolling over onto her side to face her opponent with empty hands, having lost her grip on her daggers as she was launched into the air. The man towered over her as she lay there, defenseless and too far away for the others to help. Spencer was just about to draw the cross- bow and hope that he had time to aim and fire when the sound of a metal broad sword leaving it's sheath filled the air and everyone noticed it hadn't come from the man.

Instead the man's head went flying, severed from his body which crumpled to the ground near JJ, leaving Nicollet standing right behind where he had been, holding the bloody sword she had drawn from another vampire, fire burning in her red eyes.

JJ was panting and looked up at the woman with a mix of wonder and fear. Nicollet lowered the sword and offered a hand to JJ, who just continued to stare at the woman. "Nicollet…" She breathed out, confused about how she should feel.

When JJ still didn't take her hand Nicollet stepped forward and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to her feet. Without a word she handed the daggers JJ had dropped back to her and took off deeper into the battle.

The others rushed JJ to make sure she was ok, and apart from a small split on her cheek and blood splatter from her attacker she was unmarked. Without much more hesitation they all turned back to the fight, gaining the upper hand now that Morgan and Reid had joined ranks, staking, decapitating, or throwing into the fire any they met. Soon they found Rossi and Hotch fighting off a few remaining vampires with grace, both bearing small cuts and bruises to their faces. The battle quickly concluded, some vampires having fled when the tides had turned and the team stood together, all panting for breath.

"Where the hell where you two? We were almost slaughtered out here because you didn't hold your side." Hotch fumed at Morgan and Reid, knuckles turning white from how tightly he griped the handle of his broad sword.

"We, um…" Reid didn't know how to go forward without revealing to his superiors they had let Nicollet go but he could see the unit chief growing angrier by the second.

"It was Nicollet wasn't it?" Prentiss said, having seen the whole exchange with JJ.

"What?" Rossi looked between the others. "Nicollet was here?"

"She…" JJ shook her head. "She saved my life."

The two older men looked at the blond woman in disbelief.

"I didn't mean to keep them from the battle." Nicollet was suddenly standing a ways off, apparently unarmed now and out of the reach of any of the other weapons, her clothes splattered with blood and grime. All eyes snapped to her, Hotch and Rossi both raising their weapons to the ready position.

"I'm sorry." She said softly.

"What are you doing here?" Rossi asked, deep down not wanting to hurt his old teammate and secretly wishing she had simply stayed hidden.

"I… I couldn't stay away." She gave a half smile. "I missed you all."

The whole team new they should strike her down on the spot but their history with her prevented it from being that simple. "That's impossible." Hotch said factually, his weapon still held at the ready.

"Not as much as we thought. There are actually a fair amount of… us… who can still feel. And not just blood-hunger, hate, and lust. I, like some others, still feel love, compassion, _empathy_."

"You could just be saying that. How could we know for sure? It might just be a new and clever hunting tactic." Hotch shook his head at her.

"If I wanted to kill any of you, I've had plenty of opportunities. JJ, in the battle, Morgan, when I had him restrained back in the loft, Spencer, when he kissed me…" everyone but Morgan shot Reid a quick look, the girl's full of sadness, Rossi's full of empathy, and Hotch's full of disapproval.

"But I didn't. I know it's a lot to take in but there are those like me who hate what the others are like. It's hell to watch people hunted like animals when I can remember fully well what being human feels like. When most of the time I still feel that way."

"You did save my life. You didn't have to do anything but you stepped in." JJ looked deep into her brown eyes, something of a resolve forming in the depths of the blue ones.

Morgan spoke up. "And she's right Hotch. She had me beet up in the loft. If she had wanted to, she could have gutted me like a fish, but instead she went to Reid's aid. He had a huge gash on his head and he was barely conscious but she healed him whi-"

"Healed him? How is that possible?" Hotch interrupted.

"Distilled Vampire blood. Well any Vampire blood works but distilled is the strongest and most effective. It turns out that something in the chemical compounds of… our… blood actually speeds up a hunter's healing process." As she spoke she noticed Rossi slowly lowering his weapon. "It all comes down to some kind of bond in the molecular make up of both types of blood; hunter's being genetically different from normal humans, and Vampires as well."

"How could you possibly know all of this?" Hotch hadn't bugged from holding his weapon at the ready.

"Research." Nicollet took a chance and took one step closer to the team and watched as Hotch was the only one to match her step back. "See, the Bureau views Vampires as a new and immediate threat, something that needs to be annihilated now as quickly as possible before it spreads. They don't care about learning anything more than how to kill… us. Vampires, however, have actually been around far longer than the Bureau thinks, centuries. Turns out the fables of immortality are completely true. So Vampires have taken an interest in learning all about the advisory they face. There is actually a lot of… testing… going on." At the word testing her face darkened and she looked sickened by memories.

Reid had thought of something. "Nicollet, why _did_ you choose to lead us _here_?"

"She what?" Hotch looked at the man and now lowered his weapon.

"She led us here." Reid said. "But I can't figure out why. At first I thought she just wanted to confront us, but she could have done that before now. Why here? Why now?"

"This pack was planning a massive hunt tomorrow night. That's why they were celebrating tonight."

"No, we knew that. That was Intel you fed us." Reid continued. "But why stick around to see it all? What about this made you stay and actually be a part of it?"

"I think I can answer that." Morgan said. "You wanted to make sure we took out the leader, right?"

Nicollet was silent for a moment before nodding. "Yes, I had a vested interest in making sure she went down."

"How could you know that?" Reid looked to Morgan.

"Garcia called me with some information right before I walked in on the two of you making out." Morgan almost smiled at the memory but remembered how complicated the situation was and knew that wasn't as amusing as it once would have been. His eyes were locked on Nicollet as he continued. "The leader of this pack… she's your-"

There was a loud bang near where they stood and everyone spun to face it, weapons at the ready. A young blond girl, appearing as if she was somewhere in her early teens, with blazing red eyes stared back at them all in terror. Prentiss, who was closest to her moved into action, headed to take her out.

_Author's note continued: Like I said sorry, guys. I was right to say my life has just gotten crazy with school and many other things. My brother was in a motorcycle accident February 24__th__ which was an already crazy busy weekend. He is ok, just a badly broken leg they had to put a steal rod in, so now he is back at home living on our couch. Normally I use that living room at night as my writing center so that has been put on hold and I just found time to read over and do a quick edit of this chapter that I already had ready to go up. I hope you guys will stick with me and I will try to write more and post more often. Thanks for reading!_


	5. Chapter 5: Blood to Blood

**Hellfire**

Chapter Five: _Blood to Blood_

"No!" Nicollet called and ran forward, stopping Prentiss in her tracks. "Hannah?" She spoke softly to the girl as she approached. "Hannah, are you ok?"

The girl met Nicollet's eyes and nodded, tears starting to flow from her eyes. "Their dead, Nicollet. My parents. Their…"

"Ssshhhh…" Nicollet took the girl in her arms and rocked her for a moment, the grit and blood stains that coated her in direct contrast to the genital actions she took with the girl.

The team of agents all watched the incredibly human moment with fascination.

"Hannah can you do something for me sweetheart?" Nicollet pulled back a little and stroked the young girls face.

She nodded through the sobs.

"That's my girl. Now listen closely." She looked the young girl directly in the eyes and held her gaze. "You know O'Heral's pub down by the warf?" When the girl nodded Nicollet continued. "Go there and ask for Shelly. Give her my name and she'll give you a place to stay tonight. If I'm not there for you by noon tomorrow…" She glanced around at the team. "Get out of town. Get as far from here as you can and start over."

The small girl nodded quickly before hugging Nicollet tightly, then she was gone.

"Who was that?" Rossi was the first to find his voice.

"A girl I know. She's like me. She feels emotions you think… us… incapable of. Hannah wouldn't hurt a fly unless forced to, but I can't say anything good about her parents. They were cruel and vicious and I saw how they were tearing that girl apart. She may have hated what her parents were… but she loved them."

"So… what do we do now?" It was Prentiss who had asked.

Nicollet was moving back to the team when she froze, fear in her eyes. Then in a flash a woman was there and though Nicollet tried to defend herself the woman drove a stake into her. The woman was injured herself though and miss judged hitting Nicollet's stomach instead of piercing her heart.

As the stake plunged into her flesh she screamed in pain before falling back, onto the ground, holding her the stake in her stomach.

Standing over her the woman hissed down at her. "We took you in and you betrayed us, leading us to slaughter. Now most of my pack is dead."

Reid stared at the woman, tall with dark hair and angled features, and not a second passed before he placed her face. He was staring at the woman he had watched five months ago take Nicollet's life. He was staring at the woman he had been forced to watch sire the woman he loved. Quickly, before the others could even think to move Reid pulled the cross-bow from his back and took aim. As the others were starting to move towards her he sent the arrow flying and watched as it plunged strait through her heart.

Everyone else froze and looked to Reid, who had dropped the cross-bow the second the woman had fallen dead to the ground and was now running towards Nicollet.

"Nicollet! Nicollet, no..." As he dropped to his knees by her side there were tears streaming down his face and he could hear her gasping for air. The sound was gargled as blood leaked into her lungs. "Nicollet look at me…"

He took her head in one hand and touched his fingers to the blood seeping from her wound, looking her over with fear and an all too familiar sense of dismay. Slowly he wrapped his hand around the stake and pulled, closing his eyes and trying to ignore how it sounded leaving her flesh. Tossing it to the side he opened his eyes back up and met hers.

"Spence…" She closed her eyes in pain.

"Why aren't you healing? She didn't it your heart, you should heal…" His voice was panicked.

The others stood nearby, tears forming in some of their eyes. This was the second time they would have to deal with the death of a woman they had truly cared for as part of their family.

"It doesn't…" She had to take long and painful breathes after every few words. "Work… like that… Spence… you use… Alder wood… because… it's like… poison..."

"A wound to the heart must deliver the poison to the source so fast it's an instant kill… but this…" JJ shook her head and fought away the tears at the idea of an old comrade dying in so much pain.

Nicollet closed her eyes and gave half a nod of yes and a grunt of pain. "The… poison… keeps the wound… open…"

Reid was fighting the sobs as he held her in his arms. "I can't lose you again…"

"Spence…" She tried to smile at him. "This is… best…"

"No. Don't tell me this is best and this is ok. It's not… I can't lose you again… I love you…" Sobs racked his body as she closed her eyes, breathing still heavy, and he rested his forehead to hers. Suddenly something came to him and his words poured out quickly. "Nicollet, Vampire blood can heal hunters, right?" She had opened he eyes a crack to look at him and nodded yes. "Does it work the other way around?"

"Reid…" Hotch didn't like where this was going.

"In... theory… but you… would need… a lot… of pure…" She stopped talking, it was too much effort, and Reid moved around her.

After she had said 'in theory' Reid had pulled off his jacket and gently rested her head on it before moving down to her ankle. He took the dagger from her boot that he had seen her pull out earlier to untie Morgan and moved back up near her wound, a determined look on his face as he moved quickly.

"Spence… don't… let me…"

"I'm not going to let you die!" His voice softened to almost a whisper. "Not if I can save you…"

"Reid don't do this, kid. Let her go." Morgan moved closer to both of them.

Reid had the blade in his right hand and before anyone could move to stop him he slashed his left arm from wrist to mid-forearm, closing his eyes and letting out a gasp of pain. The knife fell to the ground and he pressed his new deep wound to hers. He could feel the blood spilling through his skin and he was getting light headed from the pain and blood loss. "Don't leave me…" The tears still ran down his face. "Don't leave me…" he whispered before he passed out on top of her.

_Author's Note: Sorry it's been so long and this is a little short… Crazy busy in school and life. But it is spring break for me so I'm hoping to have another chapter up at the end of the week. Happy reading all, I would love to hear any kind of feedback from you… even if it is just yelling at me for the wait and cliff hanger ending here. THANKS for reading!_


	6. Chapter 6: Ultimate Decisions

**Hellfire**

Chapter 6: _Ultimate Decisions_

"What are we doing here?" The voices were fuzzy and almost beyond his reach, but Reid was sure it was Hotch.

"I don't know, Aaron." Rossi.

"I mean, she's a Vampire. If we are caught harboring her… we're all dead." It didn't matter if Hotch was pissed if what he was saying meant Nicollet was alive, as much as she could be.

"So what should we do Aaron? Leave her out on the curb? Or maybe burn the body? But then, what will we tell Reid?" The voices were a little clearer and Reid thought Rossi seamed to almost mock Hotch.

"If he wakes up, Dave. It's been five days and he hasn't even moved. I just don't know."

"He isn't dead though, Aaron. He has a heartbeat and the doctor said it's getting stronger. And Morgan was sure the blood had worked before. They had plenty of blood exchange after what he did out there."

"But Morgan said she had used distilled blood. We don't know if it will work this way, what if this just induces a permeate coma? And how many more times can we make that doctor come to an apartment where the patient is refined to the couch before he tells someone? It wouldn't be as bad if we weren't using the bedroom to hide Nicollet." It sounded as if Hotch was pacing. Reid was fully alert now, but he wasn't about to let them know so he lad as still as he could and tried not to let it look like he was forcing his eyes to stay shut.

"I can tell you one thing. Pacing around here isn't going to figure it out. I think it's time we call that team meeting." Reid could hear Rossi standing from a chair he had been poised in.

"Alright." Hotch sounded resolved but melancholy. "Let's go."

Reid listened to them leave the apartment, Hotch already dialing his phone, and waited a few minutes before opening his eyes. With a grunt he propped himself up and looked around. He was in a loft apartment, identical to the one he and Morgan had been staked out in except the windows were facing east instead of south, the brick wall keeping in and adding to the cold.

Slowly he forced himself to his feet cringing when the bare flesh of his feet hit the cold hardwood floor. After being unconscious for a while he was shaky, a little light headed, and his legs felt like rubber but he managed to stand and get his balance.

Slowly he made his way from the white modern styled couch in the middle of the room to the door standing across from the kitchen area. If the floor plan was a replica of the other apartment then this was the bedroom. Taking a deep breath he opened the door and peered in.

Nicollet was lying on the bed, her chest rising and falling softly, eyes closed with the tender appearance of sleep. Her body sunk into the pale cream comforter, giving her the appearance of floating, and her skin stood out unnaturally pale against it, even for a vampire. Even like this he could easily see the girl he had fallen in love with, not the creature he knew she had become, her sleep like form reminding him of the peaceful morning he got to wake up next to her.

Someone had replaced the clothes from the battle, as they had his. Were as he was wearing a pair of his loosest fitting pants and one of his simple blue button-ups, she was dressed in clothes that were defiantly not hers. The black trousers that should have been fitted perfectly were loose in odd places on her legs and the baggy white t-shirt she had on laid like it should and could have looked good with the outfit, had it not been put onto an unconscious woman. They were clearly Emily's clothes, as they were closest in height and body shape, but he had a feeling Prentiss had only helped and Garcia was truly responsible for dressing her.

He made his was across the room, shutting the door behind him, and quietly crawled onto the bed next to her. With a shaking hand he reached out and pulled up the bottom of her shirt, reveling her smooth pale stomach. He closed his eyes and let out a half sob of relief. The wound that had almost taken her life was closed up now, simply a patch of red and irritated, almost raw, skin. He closed his eyes for a moment to compose himself, taking several deep breaths and running his hand along the unbroken skin there.

The team had never seen him this vulnerable, this defenseless, this intimate and he really didn't want them to, but right now only she mattered and he had to be close to her. Knowing they would be back to check on him and find him there didn't matter as much as it would have at one time. He eased himself as close as he could to her, rolled her on her side and wrapped his arms around her lank body, resting her against his chest. Against him, he could feel her rhythmic breathing and it lulled him into a state of peace. The world didn't matter anymore. Only she did.

After everything his body was still exhausted and as her let his muscles relax he slipped into the first restful sleep he had in five months.

The whole team was there, even Garcia, as they proceeded to the apartment. Not all of them agreed with plan of action, but they didn't question their Unit Chief, who assured them all that he had taken their view on the subject into consideration.

Silence hung over the group as they walked into the room but that didn't last long. "He's gone!" JJ was clutching the back of the couch where he had been.

"What?" Garcia and Hotch called out at the same time, her in concern and him much more fiercely.

After a quick scan of the apartment both Hotch and Morgan moved towards the bedroom, Hotch throwing open the door when they reached it. Morgan sighed and shook his head as the others moved up behind them to pear in. They all took in the sight of Reid lying there holding Nicollet's limp body to him, asleep.

The women all turned away after seeing him, knowing Reid wouldn't want them to see that side of him. Garcia had tears in her eyes as the men rejoined the group, Rossi closing the door to give them back some form of privacy.

"We can't do this." Garcia said softly to them all. "Hotch, we can't."

"We have to. It's the only option." JJ said resigned. Garcia looked at her with the same shock that she had when the woman first showed support for this plan, not understanding how JJ could take that side.

"How can you say that? She saved your life the other night…" Garcia just shook her head at her friend, a single tear escaping her eyes and making its way down her face.

"JJ's right. We don't have a choice." Hotch said, factually.

"We have to have _some_ other choice. This can't be the only option." Prentiss shook her head, not willing to believe it.

Hotch rubbed his forehead for a moment. "We don't. The Bureau would kill us all for this. They would say we've gotten weak. We have to get rid of her." Then almost to reassure himself he said, "Reid will understand in time."

"How can you say that, Hotch?" Morgan shook his head as he looked at his boss. "What if that was Haley in there, man? Could you ever accept or understand us killing _her_?"

"That's different. Haley was _murdered_ by Foyet." Hotch shot Morgan a look that said he was close to crossing a line.

"And she isn't him, Hotch! Just because she's a Vampire, that doesn't make her the same as Foyet." His voice was growing louder as he faced off with Hotch. "And you know as well as I do that it very well could be her in there." He was pointing at the door shaking his head. "Nicollet was there for you through all of that, we all were. And now you want to just… put her down like a stray mutt?" His eyes were full of hurt and anger.

"That's what she is, Morgan! You all seem to forget that the creature in there isn't the girl we knew. She's a Vampire." Hotch had raised his voice too.

"But _she isn't_ Hotch. She feels just like we do, she isn't just another Vampire. I know it sounds crazy, but I could see it in her. She loves, cares about us all still, she even empathizes with people. The fact that she hates herself for not _dying _has to mean _something_..." Morgan turned away from his boss, not able to look at the man any more. "What do you think Rossi? You haven't shown support either way."

"I think…" Rossi met Hotch's eyes. "I think it would be a mistake to get rid of her."

Hotch stood silent for a second, just staring at the other man. "Maybe so… But still… She's a huge risk." Hotch looked them all over. "Not only does she put us all at risk from the Bureau, she herself is a risk. There are too many things we just don't know about her situation yet. I still think the best thing to do would be to eliminate that risk now."

A soft voice came from the doorway where none of them had heard Reid come out and shut the door behind him. "You're not killing her."

"Reid!" Most of the team gasped together. JJ moved forward concern filling her face. "Reid, sit down, take it easy."

"I'm fine." He said waving her off, though he was leaning on the door frame for support, his hands clutching it tightly. "But you're not killing her. I won't let you."

Hotch looked sadly at the young man and tried to reason with him. "Reid, she's a-"

"I don't care, Hotch. I don't care what she is, I love her. Kill her… and you'll have to kill me too." He seemed completely resolved to the fact, as if he had come to this conclusion long before joining their conversation.

JJ shook her head in disbelief as she looked at him. "Spencer, that's ridiculo-"

"Don't." He cut her off sharply with a look that made her completely freeze. "Don't patronize me, JJ. I know what side of this you're on, and I can't believe after what she did for you, every thing she has ever done for you, this is how you would repay her."

"Reid, we don't have another option. We can't just let her go. The Bureau would view every last one of us as a liability after that. And if we turn her into them they will make us execute her publicly as an example of our strength. Is any of that really what you want?" Hotch tried to make Reid come to reason.

"No. I know all that and I've thought about it." Reid nodded his head for a second before continuing. "We can't turn her in and we can't simply let her go. But, we could… edit our surveillance and records of the night. They maybe a little upset but they wouldn't punish you if she had escaped during the battle. And of course, as tragic as it is, it would be a loss for you and the Bureau that she convinced me to go with her."

_Author's Note: Again... Sorry for the wait. I hope you like this one. What do you think Hotch will say to Reid's idea? What do you think they will end up doing? Thanks for reading. If you can please review!_


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